Doctor ‘sexually assaulted patient’, court told
A DOCTOR allegedly sexually assaulted a patient during a consultation and asked her about sex and if she watched pornography, a court heard.
Khitish Mohanty, 52, denies two counts of assault by penetration relating to an alleged incident at a private clinic in 2005.
Cardiff Crown Court heard yesterday that the specialist doctor asked the alleged victim if she was “aroused” and questioned her about sex and pornography during a consultation.
The woman was treated for pelvic fractures in 2005 and was treated at the University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff. She was seen by Mohanty, who is a specialist in pelvic trauma.
James Wilson, prosecuting, said that during one subsequent consultation at a Bupa practice: “[Mohanty] started by asking normal questions and asked her to walk back and forth. He then asked [her mother] to leave and, when asked why, he said it was to ask her intimate questions.”
The alleged victim initially refused, but he insisted, the court heard.
When alone, the prosecutor said, Mohanty asked her to remove her lower clothes and underwear and to sit on an examination table.
She alleged Mohanty then penetrated her with his fingers and asked “if she was aroused” before again using a finger to penetrate her. She then got dressed while Mohanty returned to his desk, the court heard.
Mr Wilson said: “He then asked her about sex and said she was attractive. He asked her if she masturbated and watched porn.”
After leaving, the alleged victim said she was left “shocked” and told her waiting mother. The prosecution said she also told two friends about the incident shortly afterwards.
A criminal investigation was then started in 2017 after the alleged victim, now in her mid-30s, contacted police.
Mr Wilson said: “She said she had not felt strong enough to go through the complaint until 12 years later.”
Jurors were also shown a video recording of a police interview with the alleged victim.
In the roughly two-hour interview, from 2017, she told police that “all I can remember is the fear”.
After the alleged assault, she said: “I felt like he could not wait to get me
out of the room then.”
She added: “I’m not a doctor, but I don’t understand why he would need to do it.”
The jury heard she and Mohanty were alone in the consultation room for around 15 minutes.
In the interview she explained to police why she decided to come forward. She told officers: “I did not have the strength to do it before. I need closure.”
Officers questioned Mohanty and during a police interview in May 2017 the prosecution said the defendant had “no personal recollection” of the consultation and denied the allegations of assault and denied asking inappropriate questions. He also denied asking the alleged victim’s mother to leave.
Mohanty, of Ochr Y Coed, Thornhill, Cardiff, denies two counts of assault by penetration.
The trial, before Judge Michael Fitton QC, continues.